It also means that a previously booked concert by jazz-funk band Level 42 will now take place twice – two seated performances instead of one standing/seated. A spokesman for the venue said: “This is a decision which was taken after long deliberation and discussion, and with regret. The ‘flat floor mode’ is the configuration favoured by promoters of gigs, allowing for increased capacity with a mix of standing and seated places. Unfortunately, wear and tear on HFC’s seating system has reached the point where risk to our core stage programme, which plays to a seated format, was considered too great to continue with moving seating out and back in. READ MORE: Day-by day guide to what’s on in Cornwall in September Level 42 will now two shows instead of one due to the seating situation. Gigs have been a strand of HFC programming from its earliest days but “retaining that flexibility has put impossible strains on the infrastructure”. The spokesman added: “The situation does serve to illustrate that HFC’s plans for replacing the current auditorium with a new theatre are timely, and happily, with partners such as Eden for sessions and the Asylum, which more easily adapt to flat floor events, we are all raising the quality of the offer for live entertainment for Cornwall and producers across the board. “That HFC was built at all in a primarily rural county was a great achievement by all concerned but over the years HFC has truly been subject to wear and tear. Hundreds of thousands of visitors have been through our doors and deterioration of the venue now affects all areas of the building to varying degrees. “We had hoped to continue with a full stage programme until such time as re-build could begin, but we have had to acknowledge that auditorium seating has become too vulnerable to safely use as ‘retractable’ and so we have had to call time on presenting gigs earlier than we’d hoped.” Last week a concert by garage-punk duo Slaves – who played the main stage at the Reading/Leeds Festival at theweekend – was cancelled a day after it was announced due to the wear and tear of the seating mechanism meant the seats couldn’t be removed. READ MORE: Slaves to play to just 40 people in Penzance Slaves, who were due to play HFC in November. Katy Barnes, of Cornish promoters SW1 Productions -who arranged the Slaves gig – said: “A huge amount of work had gone into booking the Slaves gig at Hall For Cornwall. I don’t think the venue appreciated the knock-on effect cancelling the gig had on tour promotion, pre-sales, the band’s album launch, merchandise and so much more. “We had to find a new venue at the last minute which meant all artwork for the tour had to be changed.